The art of printing images with micro-fluid technology is relatively well-known. A permanent or semi-permanent printhead has access to a local or remote supply of fluid. The fluid is usually stored in a container, such as a tank or a cartridge. In an imaging device having a local supply of fluid, the container is installed within the casing of the imaging device. FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a conventional fluid container 100 used in an imaging device. The conventional fluid container 100 includes a fluid chamber 106 defined in an interior of the housing 104 to hold a volume of fluid 102. The container 100 further includes a fluid exit port 108 for delivering fluid 102 to the imaging device. The container also include a vent 132 having at least one vent hole 118 to vent air to atmosphere and to receive air from the atmosphere as the volume of fluid 102 is depleted. As fluid 102 from the container 100 is supplied to the imaging device through a fluid exit port 108, air from the atmosphere is siphoned through the at least one vent hole 118 and into the container 100. The air occupies the volume of space left empty by the exiting fluid 102. As a result, the pressure inside the container 100 is maintained.
When the fluid container 100 is oriented at a different position, as shown in FIG. 2, with the front side 120 facing downwards or with the back side 122 substantially above the front side 120, either during actual use or during transport, fluid 102 may leak through the vent 132. The vent system may be designed to resist fluid leaks 102D at a certain fluid pressure range, but a sudden movement of the container 100 could cause a sudden rush of fluid 102 towards the vent 132 through the at least one vent hole 118 resulting to an instantaneous increase in fluid pressure P above the tolerable range, thus leading to leaking or dripping of fluid 102 at the vent 132. Fluid leaks 102D not only result to fluid waste but could also affect the operational efficiency of the imaging device when fluid 100 is trapped in the vent 132. The trapped fluid 100 may dry and could clog the at least one vent hole 118 thus obstructing the flow of air into the container 100 thereby creating a negative pressure inside the container 100. With a negative pressure inside the container 100, the flow of fluid 102 is adversely affected resulting to fluid starvation in the imaging device. Thus, it is necessary to eliminate clogging of the vent 132 caused by trapped fluid 100 brought about by instantaneous increases of fluid pressure P in the vent area during movement of the container 100.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a fluid container with an improved vent system.